Circa 2015. The Telugu film Baahubali: The Beginning singlehandedly redefined what a mega blockbuster looked like in India. Devoid of the Khan trio, the epic action directed by S.S. Rajamouli did not emulate the conventions of the Hindi film industry, but instead boasted the flamboyant sensibilities of South Indian cinema. The film went on to become a phenomenon, not only due to its cinematic grit but also because it signified a long-winded shift, one that opened people’s eyes to the powerful stories that were being told outside of Mumbai city, commonly synonymous with Bollywood.
Why is this relevant, you ask? It’s relevant because the movement that the success of this mega blockbuster started gave the audience a silvery notion of what the cinema of tomorrow was meant to look like. The concept of the ‘pan-Indian’ film gave rise to not Bollywood, or Tollywood, or Mollywood, or Sandwood, but Indian cinema at large, one that brings together East, West, North, South and seeks to showcase only the best of the best that the country has to offer. Fast forward to 2023, keeping this context in mind, we immediately begin to understand why Adipurush, which was released on June 16, has both failed and succeeded in parts.
While the Prabhas-backed mythological film based on the Hindu epic Ramayana is a brainchild of the shifting landscape within the proverbial realms of ‘Indian’ cinema, it doesn’t move far beyond the constructs of a templated idea. The epic action film directed by Om Raut, to say the least, is an ambitious effort to portray one of the most popular mythological tales of Indian culture and history, seamlessly blending in actors from across the country, to create a unique blend of cinematic synergies.
The film, which stars Kriti Sanon in the lead role playing Janaki, the wife of Raghava played by Prabhas, has been released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages. And while infusing Bollywood actors with South stars and vice versa has been a common practice, what does work in this film is the melange of actors from all across, coming together for one kind of cinema. With historical evidence of Bollywood completely underutilising the talent of actors from the South film industry, director Om Raut manages to make everyone seem like they belonged to their particular parts within the universe of the film, without anyone feeling like a misfit.
Adipurush also stars Saif Ali Khan as the antagonist Ravana, in his Tanhaji avatar, looking larger-than-life as the evil nemesis to Prabhas’ Raghava. And while it’s always pleasant to see the actor known predominantly for light-hearted rom-coms in the first innings of his acting career, in an all-new dark and devilish avatar, the 10 CGI heads popping out of Ravana quickly start feeling out of place and caricaturish.
Kriti Sanon, while looking the part completely as Raghava’s idyllic wife, has very little to play with when it comes to showing off her acting chops. While Prabhas fits the requirement of exuding a God-like demeanour playing the role of Lord Rama with his magnanimous persona, the actor quickly falls into the trap of a one-note performance, which may well be the result of a limiting script.
Also true for the rest of the cast, it almost seemed like the actors came in to give it their best shot but weren’t given any breathing space to express any real emotion. Sunny Singh, from Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety fame, plays the role of Sesh, Raghava’s younger brother, and though, has very little to portray in terms of emotional acumen, shines bright in the action sequences against Indrajit in a stellar showcase by Vatsal Seth.
It’s strange because when one thinks of potentially choosing a different cast for the movie, no other names come to mind. Yet, the emotional plight of the characters fails to strike a chord, especially in comparison to reading and watching some of the older adaptations of the mythological saga.
The on-screen chemistry, albeit between the husband and wife or the warrior king versus the enemy, wasn’t particularly awe-inspiring, which may have also been the result of the filmmakers' desire to pack too much in the screenplay, leaving little room for emotional interplay. However, the movie, already hitting the patience-testing 3-hour mark, still somehow manages to feel extremely slow in places.
On another note, what wasn’t achieved by dialogue and delivery was promised through melodious music and songs such as 'Ram Siya Ram', composed by Ajay-Atul and Sachet–Parampara, which is the heart of Adipurush.
Other than Saif Ali Khan, who is mostly a delight to watch as Lankesh (barring the extra talking heads), one of the best takeaways of the movie has to be Maharashtrian actor Devadatta Nage, playing Hanuman, whose larger-than-life, CGI-infused structure adds to the fortitude in the film. But not when it comes to the dialogues. Lacking depth and coming across as borderline gimmicky, the dialogues in the film are definitely the weak link, as writer Manoj Muntashir endeavours to modernise the lingo, perhaps to make it more palatable for the metro audience.Turning into a misplaced effort, with Hanuman's character throwing out phrases like, "Tel tere baap ka, aag bhi tere baap ki aur jalegi bhi tere baap ki’," the dialogues fail to make an impact.
While the emotional wavelength of the movie was amiss in most parts, what we can’t take away from the visual spectacle that the film offers, with gigantic structures and breathtaking visuals. However, that better be the case with the Rs600 crore budget. And like the other big-screen spectacle Brahmastra, which the film also refers to in places, the visuals in Adipurush, too, are extra in some places but still manage to make for an exhilarating experience in other places. All in all, though the movie has some obvious issues, one has to agree that seeing good win over evil will never go out of style, especially when the good and evil are depicted by two mega-stars, Saif Ali Khan and Prabhas, joining forces.
somya@khaleejtimes.com
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